Also interesting was learning about the place of the “harem” which was not the imagined “sexual free for all” for the ruler that some would have us believe. The Sultan spent a lot of leisure time with the women because it was an escape from the duties of court and only a strictly limited number of wives and concubines were there for his “pleasure”. Apparently the harem women were highly valued for their contribution into the management of court duties.
Our planned outing in October to the Anglican Benedictine convent has been cancelled due to illness at the convent. We are still going to the Winton Wetlands Hub for lunch and will have a guest speaker, if available. For this outing we will car pool, for people driving from Benalla, starting from the Dunlop campus carpark, (between the classroom and Aldi supermarket). We will leave the carpark at 12:10pm for lunch at 12:30 at the Hub.
Regarding the duration and start time of our regular Dunlop campus classes: it was decided at the September meeting that we change back to a two hour session with the option of an extra half hour if needed. The start time will stay at 1pm.
Mike Larkin